Public Prosecutor v Chan Soi Peng

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Woo Bih Li J
• Judgment Date: 24 October 2007
• Neutral Citation: [2007] SGHC 184
• Plaintiff Counsel: Francis Ng and Jean Kua (Deputy Public Prosecutors)
• Published date: 26 December 2007
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Defendant Counsel: Francis Ow (Archilex Law Corporation)
• Subject Matter: Criminal Procedure and Sentencing,Sentencing,Principles,Accused provoked by deceased,Deceased was stabbed by a knife,Accused pleading guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder,Accused remained at large for ten years before surrendering,Appropriate Sentence,Section 304(b) Penal Code (Cap 224, 1985 Rev Ed)

24 October 2007

Woo Bih Li J

1 The accused Chan Soi Peng (“Chan”) faced a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The charge stated:

That you, CHAN SOI PENG

On or about the 20th day of December 1996, sometime between 8.50pm and 9.38pm, at Block 78 Yong Siak Street #02-04, Singapore, did cause the death of one Tiew Yit Heng, to wit, by stabbing the said Tiew Yit Heng in the chest with a knife, which act was done with the knowledge that it was likely to cause death to the said Tiew Yit Heng, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 304(b) of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

2 Chan entered a plea of guilt to the charge. After considering a statement of facts which he accepted, I accepted his plea and convicted him accordingly. The offence carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to ten years or a fine or both.

3 Chan was about 31 years of age at the time of the offence. The circumstances in which the offence was committed were found in the statement of facts which stated the following:

THE ACCUSED

The accused is one Chan Soi Peng, a 41 year-old male Malaysian national, Malaysian Identity Card No. 651231-08-5769. At the time of the offence, he was working in Singapore as a freelance tile-layer.

THE DECEASED

2 The deceased is one Tiew Yit Heng, a male Malaysian national, Malaysian Identity Card No. 720212-08-5075, aged 24 at the time of his death. At the material time, the deceased was working in Singapore as a freelance plasterer and occupied rented premises at Blk 78 Yong Siak Street #02-04 ("the flat") together with the accused and other tenants.

EVENTS LEADING TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE DECEASED'S BODY

3 On 20 December 1996 at about 9:38 p.m., the Police received a '999' call from one Tang Song Kooi ("Tang"), stating: "Occupant are fighting someone is injured. They used knife (sic)". The location of the incident was given as Blk 78 Yong Saik Street #02-04. Police and Civil Defence resources attended to the call and proceeded to the flat. The deceased was discovered lying on a blood soaked mattress beside a pool of blood in one of the flat's three bedrooms. At about 9:52 p.m., Miss Lisa Wee Eng Cheng of Ambulance No. 16 pronounced the deceased dead. At about 1:10 a.m. on 21 December 1996, Forensic Pathologist Dr Teo Eng Swee ("Dr Teo") conducted an external examination of the deceased at the scene and found a stab wound on the upper chest of the deceased, over the region of the sternal notch.

SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATIONS

4 Investigations revealed that the flat's owner, one Thia Boon Teck, had rented out the entire premises to some 20 Malaysians working in Singapore at the material time, including the accused, the deceased, Tang and his wife. The flat had 3 bedrooms (Room 1, Room 2 & Room 3), a balcony, a living room, a toilet, a bathroom and a kitchen with a rear door. The deceased slept in Room 3 together with several other tenants while the accused shared Room 2 with another group of tenants. The deceased and the accused were not close and seldom spoke to each other.

5 On 20 December 1996 at about 8:50 p.m., around a dozen or so of the flat's Malaysian tenants, including the accused, the deceased, Tang and his wife, were inside the flat. Tang and his wife were inside Room 1 while the rest of the tenants were watching a television programme in the living room. The accused was seated under the windows in the living room while the deceased was seated closer to the television set, which was placed against the wall opposite the windows. In the midst of the programme, the deceased, who was carrying a bottle of liniment and smelt of alcohol, walked over to where the accused was seated and stood beside him, looking out of the windows. All of a sudden, and for no apparent reason, the deceased lightly pushed the accused's head twice.

6 The accused ignored the deceased, as he had previously been told by one of the other tenants that the deceased was "not so normal", and moved away from the deceased by shifting to the side. The deceased then told the accused in Cantonese that he was "stuck up" and "arrogant". The accused replied by explaining to the deceased that he was not being arrogant by ignoring him. After this exchange, the accused stood up and prepared to leave the flat for his dinner. It was at this point in time that the deceased struck the accused in the face with the bottle of liniment he was carrying.

7 The accused retaliated with his fists and a fight ensued. The accused and deceased struggled with each other from the living room of the flat into Room 2 before pausing briefly. The deceased then emerged from Room 2 with bloodstains on his right hand and sat at the entrance of Room 3. Seconds later, the accused emerged from Room 2 with blood all over his face. The accused then walked across the living room towards the rear of the flat where the toilet, bathroom and kitchen were located. The deceased went after the accused and both were embroiled in another scuffle moments later. In the course of the scuffle, the accused punched the deceased twice at his stomach region

8 Following this, the accused walked to the kitchen of the flat and returned to the living room with a fruit knife in his right hand. He advanced towards the deceased, who had moved to stand in front of Room 3. On seeing the accused approaching with the knife, the deceased picked up a mattress that was on the floor and held it in front of him.

9 The accused proceeded to thrust the knife at the deceased, who managed to fend off the blow with the mattress while simultaneously retreating into Room 3. The accused followed the deceased into Room 3 and thrust the knife towards the deceased's chest, with knowledge that this act was likely to cause death but without any intention to cause death or to cause bodily injury as is likely to cause death. The knife penetrated the deceased's chest and the accused then pulled the knife out of the deceased's chest. The deceased immediately began spitting out blood and eventually collapsed in Room 3, whilst the accused returned to his own room (Room 2).

10 The accused soon emerged from Room 2 and left the flat with the knife via the flat's rear door. As the accused was leaving the flat, he walked past Tang, who had just emerged from Room 1. Tang saw bloodstains in the flat and followed the trail of blood into Room 3 where he saw the deceased's body. He panicked and immediately left the flat together with his wife to call the Police from a nearby coffee shop.

11 Investigations revealed that the accused subsequently disposed of the knife at an unknown location and proceeded to seek out his friend, one ‘Fei Kay Hoong’. He obtained some money from ‘Fei Kay Hoong’ which he then used to travel to Woodlands by taxi. The accused then boarded a private taxi and left Singapore for Malaysia at about 11.38pm that night through the Woodlands Checkpoint.

FORENSIC FINDINGS

12 A post mortem conducted by Dr Teo on 21 December 1996 revealed the presence of an incised wound over the deceased’s sternal notch, as well as five other superficial incised wounds and various other bruises and abrasions on the deceased’s body. Dr Teo further certified the cause of death as “Haemorrhage due to stab wound to the neck”. …

13 …

ARREST OF THE ACCUSED

14 After becoming aware of the accused’s involvement in the killing of the deceased, the Police sought the assistance of the Royal Malaysian Police in locating the accused. The Royal Malaysian Police eventually managed to establish that the accused had a younger brother working in Kuala Lumpur. The Royal Malaysian Police subsequently trailed the accused's younger brother and ascertained from him the accused's place of abode in Kuala Lumpur. The accused's younger brother later informed the accused and their elder sister that the Royal Malaysian Police were trying to locate the accused. Following this, the accused decided to surrender himself to the Royal Malaysian Police and did so on or about 11 January 2007. He was placed under arrest and was extradited to Singapore from Malaysia on 16 January 2007. On 18 January 2007, the accused was charged with the murder of the deceased.

PSYCHIATRIC REPORT

15 Following his return to Singapore, the accused was also sent for psychiatric assessment In a report dated 5 March 2007 (Ref 2007-357-0), Dr Kenneth GWW Koh, Associate Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist with the Institute of Mental Health, has indicated his opinion that the accused was not of unsound mind at the time of the offence and is fit to plead. …

4 In Public Prosecutor v Miguel Estella Bayos, Criminal Case No. 27 of 1999, the accused and the deceased were Filipino seamen aboard a vessel. An argument broke out between them over some remarks and the deceased pushed the accused on the chest who almost fell. The two were separated by other crew members. The accused left and obtained a bearing scraper and returned with the scraper strapped to his waist and hidden. A while later, another argument broke out between the accused and the deceased. In the struggle which ensued, the accused took out the bearing scraper and stabbed the deceased twice in the chest. The accused was charged with having committed an offence under s 304(b) of the Penal Code. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to imprisonment for five years.

5 In Public Prosecutor v Katun Bee Binte S...